Catalyst farms out UK license to Cairn, inks rig deal with Transocean

Cairn Energy has farmed into Azinor Catalyst’s Agar Plantain well and the P1763 Licence on the UK Continental Shelf. Catalyst has also signed a contract to secure the Transocean Leader rig to drill the well on Agar Plantain in 3Q 2018.

Azinor Catalyst Limited (Catalyst), the Seacrest Capital-backed E&P company, signed the farm-out agreement with a subsidiary of Cairn Energy and the agreement is subject to customary regulatory and joint venture party consents, the company said on Thursday.

Cairn will join Catalyst for 50% of the sole risk drilling activity on the Agar Plantain opportunity and 25% of the wider P1763 Licence, with existing partners Apache Corporation.

Catalyst added it is now in the final stages of planning for the well, and subject to receipt of regulatory approvals, the well will be spudded in 3Q 2018.

Catalyst will retain operatorship for the proposed appraisal well with Cairn acquiring an option to take over operatorship in the future with respect to the Agar Plantain project.

The Agar Discovery and Plantain Prospect

Catalyst holds a 50% interest in blocks 9/9d and 9/14a, which contain the Agar Discovery and the Plantain Prospect. Catalyst made the Agar Discovery in 2014 with the 9/14a-15A exploration well which encountered 33ft column (oil-down-to) in high quality Eocene Frigg Formation sands.

Agar and Plantain have estimated combined mid-case resources of 60 million barrels oil equivalent, with an upside case of 98 million barrels oil equivalent.

Henry Morris, Exploration Director of Azinor Catalyst, commented: “We are delighted to welcome Cairn onto the license as we move towards drilling. As a company with a strong and successful North Sea pedigree, we regard Cairn’s farm-in as further validation of the exciting potential of the Agar Plantain opportunity. Our technical teams have been working together to refine the final elements of the well plan and we are enthusiastic about the potential we are seeing.

“We are also pleased to have signed a contract with Transocean to secure the services of the Transocean Leader semi-submersible to drill Agar Plantain.”